6.1. Dynamic Contexts of the Changing Quality of Life6.2. Contradictory Trends of Social Differentiation and
Integration6.3. Explaining and Managing Transformations: The
Time for Social Sciences

NOTESREFERENCES

PREFACE

After a decade of multifaceted experience, the time is
ripe for striking the balance of our knowledge about the transformations
in Eastern Europe. We are able now to clearly recognize both the
achievements and the constraints of the process. Undoubtedly, there have
been tremendous efforts invested in modernizing the economic organization
of Eastern European societies. The positive results in developing
democratic political systems are obvious. Everywhere in the region the
open pluralistic culture has taken the lead. The international
institutions recognize the advancements in the field of basic human
rights. There are no more administrative limitations imposed on
organization, communication and traveling of individuals. As seen from the
point of view of these achievements, Eastern Europe is heading towards a
promising development in the next century.

However, analysts are also unanimous in the point that
in the course of this development major deficiencies and imbalances will
have to be overcome. Some of them stem from the centuries of
underdevelopment of most Eastern European societies. Others have been
brought about or aggravated by processes during the last decade. As a
whole, the Eastern European region still suffers from the effects of an
economic depression deeper than the one, which the world experienced in
the thirties. There are numerous unanswered questions concerning the
prospects of political institutions, since the social structures needed
for a smooth democratic government are still unstable. High level of
unemployment and impoverishment of large groups of society mark the dark
side of daily life in the region.

It is this mixture of remarkable achievements and
burning social problems, which makes the transformations in Eastern Europe
especially relevant for scientific analysis and for practical action
alike. We have learned a lot from the events of the fascinating decade
following the fall of the Berlin wall. Now we are much better aware of the
mutual influence of processes at global, regional, national and
sub-national levels. We know more about the limitations of social
institutions in managing the profound social change. Given the recent
experience, we have to be realistic in our claims about the explanatory
and prognostic power of social sciences.

One can hardly imagine an author who could be better
prepared to deal with the tremendous complexity of the above issues in a
brief and precise manner than Nikolai Genov. Besides his solid theoretical
and methodological background, he has accumulated a large experience in
the study of national transformations in Eastern Europe on the spot. In
the course of the last several years he has coordinated the project on
"Personal and Institutional Strategies for Coping with Transformation
Risks in Central and Eastern Europe" in the framework of UNESCO’s
Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme. The outcomes of the
project are documented in numerous publications including the collections
"Central and Eastern Europe. Continuing Transformation" (1998) and
"Unemployment. Risks and Reactions" (1999). The present book relies on
these collective research efforts and on the experience of other MOST
projects. However, reaching farther than that, it is also an attempt of
the author to analyze the processes in Eastern Europe by using a specific
conceptual framework. Its core is the vision about four global trends. The
key idea of the book is that the societal transformations in the region
are basically determined by the need to adapt to the requirements of these
global trends.

One may agree or disagree with the arguments developed
by N. Genov while elaborating on this idea. Of more relevance is the
expectation that the present publication will stir debates on the core
issue of present-day social development, namely, how to manage the
all-embracing transformations which powerfully dominate our everyday
life.